Flexible working Gaining a competitive edge Social change, being a good place to work and meeting the needs of clients are some of the reasons why many RIBA Chartered Practices, large and small, are increasingly looking at flexible working arrangements to give them a competitive edge. This guide takes a look at flexible working, for both employers and employees, and covers: Background on flexible working 1. Why talk about it? 2. What is flexible working? 3. Statutory obligations as an employer 4. Employees looking to work flexibly 5. The benefits of flexible working 6. How to introduce flexible working 7. RIBA Chartered Practice case studies 8. Where to go for more information and help 1. Why talk about it? Any business is only as good as its people so attracting and retaining expertise is critical. Research indicates that work-life balance opportunities will be increasingly important to all employees and this is where adopting a flexible working approach for staff can reap real rewards. The modern working environment is very different to the rigid and traditional employment structures of yesterday. A flexible approach to working is now becoming a standard feature of a modern workforce with employers seeing a positive impact on the bottom line. The CBI s digital report Thinking Positive: The 21st Century employment relationship sets out a compelling picture. To read it click www.cbi.org.uk/media-centre/news-articles/2011/07/ thinking-positive-the-21st-century-employment-relationship/ Architects, because of the nature of their work, spend time on site and/or travelling and can work outside normal working hours to deliver and meet project deadlines; so often have a flexible approach to work. Formalising what in reality may be happening every day is an honest and open approach to acknowledging how work is actually happening and can have a positive impact on both morale and productivity.
Flexible working It can be a daunting thought to formally move away from the traditional confines of a 9am to 5pm office based working pattern but like all other industries, the architectural profession is not immune to the changes and cultural shifts in working practices. This document is intended to help you think about planning flexible working in practice. 2. What is flexible working? Flexible working can take many different forms and can mean changes to the hours an employee works, when they are required to work and any changes to where they work. Flexible working is anything outside of the normal working arrangement and doesn t necessarily mean a reduction in the total hours worked. The main types are listed below. Part time working where employees are generally contracted to work anything less than full time hours. Flexi-time arrangements where employees have to be at work during a specified core time, but can arrange their hours outside of this period to suit them. Compressed hours where employees work the same hours over fewer days. For example, doing five days work compressed into four days. Job-sharing where one job is shared between two people. Arrangements may be morning and afternoon, alternate days, half weeks or weeks. A view may be that architects work with many different individuals on projects and build relationships which can seem to contradict the very idea of job-sharing. But with careful planning and a recognition that no one is truly irreplaceable job-sharing can be made to work in a variety of roles. Term-time working where an employee remains on a permanent contract but can take paid/unpaid leave during school holidays. Term-time working may be difficult to fit around the fluctuations of project based work but could form part of a job-sharing arrangement. Annual hours working based on working a given number of hours during the year, and where the pattern of work can vary from week to week. Mutual trust is indispensable for this sort of agreement as it relies on an honest way of recording time worked. Annual hours working could be: { Implemented to complement the project based work of architects addressing the peaks and troughs in workload. { A natural extension in practices already set up to enable flexi-time working by moving to a more extended time frame.
Flexible working Working from home sole practitioners or small practices are often home based to keep overheads down. In larger practices formalised working from home is currently unusual but is often available on a temporary basis when a member of staff cannot be in the office. Points to note are: { Technology is constantly moving further towards enabling safe remote working and this is expected to see a rise in working from home across the board. { In larger organisations it will require an atmosphere of mutual trust and a solid policy on home and remote working to benefit from this arrangement. { When responding to requests to work at home the major consideration is the extent to which the employee actually needs to attend the office to fulfil his/her job requirements. { Employers health and safety responsibilities apply equally to homeworkers (see Section 8 on advice). Mobile working/teleworking where a member of staff can work all or part of their working week outside of the employer s workplace. This is quite normal for architects who are at meetings or on site. The transition to fully fledged hot-desking and non-desk based working is yet to happen but looking ahead, making existing mobile working methods available for a whole office and using these as part of a formal arrangement for organised, regular teleworking seems not too far from what is already common practice. Career break or sabbatical, is an extended period of leave, normally unpaid. Until recently career breaks were not very common and most staff would not have known about this option outside of taking a break to have and raise a family. There are certain things that architects can do prior to or during a career break which keep their options open regarding returning to architecture; more information can be found in the RIBA document The business case for Staying in touch. 3. Statutory obligations as an employer As well as considering how far you can offer flexibility in the practice, some employees have the right to request a flexible working pattern. This right is available to: Employees who have children under 16 (or up to 18 in the case of a disabled child). Employees who care (or expect to care) for an adult (spouse, partner, civil partner or near relative that lives at the same address as the employee). Employees in the above situations must have a minimum of 26 weeks continuous service and made no other application in the preceding 12 months. As an employer the law states that you must consider seriously these requests. There is good guidance available from other organisations (see section 8) on the procedures you must follow if you receive a request to work flexibly. In broad terms if you are an employer you must: Give all applications serious consideration. It is good practice to acknowledge the application and you must meet with the employee to discuss his or her application within 28 days of receiving it.
Flexible working After the meeting, as an employer you must respond within 14 days with a written decision. If you refuse an application to work flexibly, the employee has a right to appeal in writing, within 14 days. You must then have another meeting within 14 days of receiving a letter to hear the appeal and then provide a written decision, again within 14 days, of the appeal hearing. For information on employers legal obligations look at the websites listed in section 8, in particular the Acas and Business Link websites have comprehensive information and guidance. 4. Employees looking to work flexibly Employees with children, or who care for a dependent, have a right to request flexible working to help with their family commitments. Employees should set out the details for their employer and: Do this well in advance of when they would want to change their working pattern. Put it in writing, making it clear when they would like it to start. Come up with a clear plan of how the new arrangements would work and how this would have no detrimental effect to the business. Explain clearly how they meet the qualifying conditions. For employees that have taken a career break and who are looking to return to work a flexible working arrangement could be important to them. For more information and the relevant application forms for flexible working, look at the websites listed in section 8, in particular the DirectGov and BIS websites. 5. The benefits of flexible working Many RIBA Chartered Practices are seeing tangible benefits to having an open and flexible mind-set to new ways of working that take account of business productivity, the needs of the client and the quality of life for employees. There are compelling reasons for adopting a flexible working policy. It can help you to: Attract high quality employees because you are able to recruit from a more diverse workforce. You are also demonstrating you have good employment policies in place.
Retain existing high quality staff by keeping staff that may have had to leave the practice for family and other reasons. Doing so keeps corporate memory, industry knowledge, networks and contacts and makes good economic sense. Set accurate fees a flexi-time arrangement can help generate accurate time sheets for resource based fee calculations. Staff will be more motivated to fill in time sheets accurately if they know every hour of work is counted and reimbursed, either in the form of payment or time off in lieu. Minimise redundancies by using flexible working methods such as part time working to avoid or reduce redundancies. Reduce employee turnover by being a good place to work. As a result you will minimise the cost, time and upheaval that can go with replacing good staff. Nurture employee morale by giving people more choice and control over their hours; strengthening their commitment and loyalty to the business and in doing so reducing absenteeism. Plan the resource you need to meet fluctuating project deadlines and deliverables. Increase productivity as a result of higher levels of staff satisfaction; improved responsiveness to the needs of the client and benefit from any cost savings, for example, on overheads where employees are working from home. 6. How to introduce flexible working It is good practice as an employer to consider all requests for flexible working and to develop a Flexible Working Policy for the business. To start, an open discussion to find out what support employees feel they need in order to balance their work and family life, albeit sometimes temporarily; this will establish the framework for the requirements. For some employees, it could be a simple readjustment of hours to accommodate the school run or to take a disabled relative for regular treatment, whereas others may require more. Employers should identify the jobs in the practice that might lend themselves to flexible working and the jobs where flexibility is unlikely to be an option. Where flexibility looks unlikely it is important to establish a clear business case for this. For flexible working arrangements, establish a trial period, review progress and address any difficulties should they crop up along the way.
7. RIBA Chartered Practice case studies AMANDA DEAVES, HR & PRACTICE MANAGER, ROGERS STIRK HARBOUR AND PARTNERS Q: How did you start flexible working at RSHP? When forming our Flexible Working Policy, we encouraged an open dialogue within the practice. I produced an in-house focus group consisting of male and female associate partners who ran full and part time projects, a senior partner at the commercial end of the business, a part-time male graphic designer and a number of female architects who were either currently working reduced hours or would shortly need to do so for family reasons. This was a great forum for everyone to raise questions, contribute new ideas and generally think through solutions for themselves, and for the business. The shared approach to the problem formed our new policy on flexible working. Q: How does it work? RSHP as an employer is committed to considering requests for flexible working if there is a clear reason and need for an employee to be asking for it. The work pattern proposed meets with business needs, and then is put on trial for six months to allow any potential problems to be revealed. If there are difficulties that present themselves during this process, we address them and look for solutions. It is often the case that the employee personally finds the solution as they are driven to make a success of the new working method they themselves proposed. Also on implementation, the most common concerns shared by employees are whether they will be able to retain the same responsibility/status/salary if they took the decision to work fewer hours. At RSHP, we talk through these concerns very carefully and look at the facts of what a change in working hours may bring to an employee. Communication is vital within teams that have flexible workers and this is strengthened by good technology, for example Blackberries can be a fantastic way of remaining linked in with what is happening at work and on site. Q: And what about the future? Certain legal obligations are already upon us to consider flexible working requests from parents and carers, and as is always the nature of employment law, will only grow and develop as it matures.
Good employment practices are, in my view, to far exceed the practices stipulated regulations and to focus intently on what people want and need. If I feel that my employer treats me well and that I enjoy working in a place with great benefits and employment practices, then it follows that I am far more likely to give respect back in terms of quality of work, commitment and length of service. I would encourage all RIBA Chartered Practices to adopt similar flexible working policies and would be happy to discuss the approach we have at RSHP. We should be looking at flexible working as making good business sense, to retain the excellent staff we have within our organisations and take the industry forward in a dynamic and positive way. DINA LOCKWOOD, DIRECTOR, ANDREW CATTO ARCHITECTS The practicalities of looking after two small children and the demands of a commercial practice some distance from home made taking time out from practice the only sensible option. I was able to allow my life to revolve around my young children but it also allowed me to reconsider my professional objectives and decide on the kind of work I wanted to pursue. I attended the RIBA Return to Practice course in 2008 which gave me a good deal of confidence and focus. What came to the fore during this appraisal was that to combine family and a professional life, I needed to work locally and flexibly. Having found a suitable practice, I was able to negotiate with Andrew (Catto) who had similar criteria for what he required in the way of assistance at the time. When I started at Andrew Catto Architects, it was for 17 hours a week over three mornings. Now with a third child, I am able to work double those hours in accordance with my increased responsibility, and the practice has been able to support this. The demand of architectural practice ultimately requires long hours and commitment. The challenge is to take what you know you can do well and use your time effectively. Taking on more responsibility and working part time hours is a challenge in itself as you effectively have less time to do more. At Andrew Catto, we encourage an ethos that the work must be done and delivered to a very high standard of service. We try to hone how we do this and like many growing practices, there is a degree of evolution to it. Andrew knows that his team are the key to the success of the practice and is therefore flexible and accommodating. In return, he has tremendous loyalty from us all.
Having experienced the world of large commercial practice, I like to think I am able to contribute an alternative approach to what we do. I would encourage other architects in similar situations to firstly consider how and where you want to work and what sort of practice would best accommodate you. Ask yourself questions such as what can you do confidently and well, and are you returning part time or full time, as these will have different implications on your chosen path. Ultimately, support will be given to practitioners considered of value to the practice. Having myself been involved in the selection of staff members, it is difficult to always get it exactly right. From the perspective of an employer, I look at what has been done up to and during a career break and clues that detect self-discipline, drive and commitment. As long as both the employer and employee are never taken for granted, both parties will come to an understanding that will always benefit the practice. 8. Where to go for more information and help RIBA RESOURCES AND GUIDANCE RIBA Chartered Practice services For more information on flexible working and any other employment matters RIBA Chartered Practices can access a comprehensive online resource and business support helpline. This is delivered by Croner, a leading provider of information and advice on employment matters and legal compliance. RIBA Chartered Practice members can access the service in three easy steps: 1. Go to click Member Login and log-on using your practice s Main Contact s personal RIBA Membership number and password. 2. Click Chartered Practice Services then click Employment Law and Business Advice. 3. Click Croner online to gain access to RIBA Business Essentials. OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION AND HELP Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) Web: www.acas.org.uk Helpline: 08457 474 747 Has a comprehensive Advice & Guidance section on its website for both employers and employees, this is backed up by a free and confidential helpline.
Business Link Web: www.businesslink.gov.uk Has information for both employers and employees. Go to Working Time in the Employment & Skills section for free information and interactive tools. Carers UK Web: www.carersuk.org Helpline: 0808 808 7777 Has information for carers and a template for an application for flexible working. The helpline can be used for advice and guidance. Confederation of British Industry Web: www.cbi.org.uk Go to www.cbi.org.uk/media-centre/news-articles/2011/07/thinking-positive-the-21stcentury-employment-relationship/ to view the digital report titled Thinking Positive: the 21st Century employment relationship. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development Web: www.cipd.co.uk Sign up for a free CIPD Website Account to give you access to factsheets, survey reports and useful links. Direct Gov Web: www.direct.gov.uk Orientated at employee help and guidance and gives specific information for carers and people with children. Includes application form for flexible working Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Web: www.bis.gov.uk Includes a section on employment matters and information on work-life balance Health & Safety Executive Web: www.hse.gov.uk Provides advice on employer health and safety responsibilities which apply equally to people who work from home and those who work in an office. Working Families Web: www.workingfamilies.org.uk Helpline: 0800 013 0313 Advises parents, carers and employers about combining work and family. The website has free factsheets and guides backed up by a free legal helpline for parents who need advice.
While reasonable steps have been taken to check the accuracy and quality of the information given in this publication, neither the author, the editor nor the RIBA accept any responsibility for the subsequent use of this information, for any errors or omissions that it may contain, or for any misunderstandings arising from it. The information in this document is for use in the UK only. Credits Author: Dagmar Binsted, GMW Architects Editor: Sarah Parish, Parish Consulting Case study: Amanda Deaves, HR & Practice Manager, Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners Case study: Dina Lockwood, Director, Andrew Catto Architects Issued on 6 November 2012